Cardboard is a common material used in packaging supply. You might be familiar with receiving custom cardboard package boxes from your favourite online store, but what do you do once you’ve taken the product out of the box? Most likely, you (hopefully) break the cardboard down and recycle them.
We all know the number of cardboard boxes we have can quickly add up, especially if you are an avid online shopper or have a young child who always seems to require some kind of gadget. Rather than simply breaking them down and recycling them, why not give the cardboard another use in your home?
There are so many creative cardboard uses to repurpose this versatile material. Use your imagination and come up with even more ways to use all of that cardboard you have lying around. Try out these eight creative cardboard uses around the house:
1. Use cardboard to protect surfaces
Do you frequently do DIY projects? Or arts and crafts with your children? You can use cardboard boxes to flatten and layout on your work surface will work wonders in preserving your countertops, floors, workbenches, kitchen tables, and anywhere else that you work.
The cardboard will absorb any paint, dust, glue, and nicks from sharp objects. Once you’ve used the cardboard, you can store it and use it again, or send it off to be recycled.
2. Use cardboard to create a drip pan
If you do a lot of maintenance on your car yourself, you probably spend a lot of time working with different liquids in your garage. For example, you may change your car’s oil yourself. Rather than ruining your garage floor, use cardboard to create a drip pan to help collect the oil.
To use cardboard in this manner, take a shallow baking dish and line it with cardboard. For even more absorption, you can layer in some cat litter, oats, or even leftover sawdust from other projects. This is a simple, inexpensive, and effective way to make a drip pan.
3. Use cardboard to make a plant bed
If you’re into plants and use plant beds on your balcony or porch, use cardboard to make them. You can get really fancy and paint the outside or add embellishments.
Then, all you need to do is line the inside with plastic, poke a few holes in it to allow for proper drainage, and there you have your very own plant bed that was easy and inexpensive to make.
4. Use cardboard for a cat’s scratch pad
Cats love to scratch, but when they start scratching furniture, you can run into a bit of a problem. To solve this dilemma, use corrugated cardboard boxes to fashion your cat a scratchpad.
You won’t have to worry about your cat ruining it as that’s really what the whole thing is about. You can easily replace it by making another one with some of the rest of the cardboard you have.
5. Use cardboard to make a toy
Now, if you really have a lot of cardboard lying around and you happen to have kids, gather up the cardboard and make your child a castle. Not only will they have so much fun and love it, but it will provide them with hours of fun, allowing you to have some time to yourself.
When your kids aren’t using the cardboard, you can store it and get it out for a special treat or when your kids have friends over. This is a creative cardboard use to impress your kids and their friends!
6. Use cardboard to design thank you cards.
If you just had an event like a wedding, bridal shower, or baby shower, chances are you’ll be sending out thank you cards. Rather than purchasing brand new ones from the store, a creative cardboard use is to design homemade thank you cards.
Use things like stamps or different coloured markers to make designs and write messages. Your guests will appreciate the fact that you took the time to make them something homemade.
7. Use cardboard for homemade coasters
All you need to do to craft some homemade coasters is to gather up some cardboard, decorative tape or washi tape, and some scissors. You can even coat them with a sealant so, in the likely event that your drinks spill or there’s condensation, your DIY project is protected. If they turn out really well, you can even make a bunch of different designs and gift them to friends and family.
8. Use cardboard to make gift tags
When the holidays or even birthdays roll around and you need a way to distinguish whose gift is who’s a great solution for this is to create gift tags. And you guessed it – this can be done with cardboard.
Simply cut out the appropriate shape, make a hole in the top, and use some string or rope to loop it through and attach it to your present or gift bag. Write the person’s name on the tag and you’ll never have to worry about giving the wrong person the wrong gift again.